LWA can help improve user’s experience by offering faster and more stable Internet service and better overall system performance, through efficient management of radio resources across both LTE and Wi-Fi networks. The proposed LWA trial will enable ASTRI and PCCW Group to collect important field data towards enabling commercial LWA deployment in Hong Kong.

Dr. Frank Tong, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI, and Ms. Susanna Hui, Group Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director of PCCW, signed the collaboration agreement at a signing ceremony today.

ASTRI and PCCW are technology leaders in promoting advanced wireless technologies such as cellular and Wi-Fi. The strategic cooperation between ASTRI and the PCCW Group targets for the commercial LWA deployment in Hong Kong as one of the first deployments globally and is dedicated to achieving the following objectives:

To position Hong Kong as a leading city in the world to conduct a 3GPP Release 13 LWA trial.

To demonstrate the LWA benefits on enhancing user experience on LTE network.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Tong said, “The joint effort marks a new milestone in our cooperation with the PCCW Group and together, we would move ahead to contribute our efforts in the transformation and betterment of Hong Kong and beyond with our communications technologies.”

Ms. Hui said, “Being Hong Kong’s leading mobile operator, the PCCW Group is enthusiastic about advancing wireless technologies together with ASTRI to the benefit of all walks of life in this mobile-centric era. This collaboration with ASTRI represents another key step toward PCCW’s commitment to promoting the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong.”

About ASTRI

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited (ASTRI) was founded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2000 with the mission of enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness in technology-based industries through applied research. ASTRI’s core R&D competences in various areas are organised under seven Technology Divisions, namely Communications Technologies, Electronics Components, IC Design (Analog), IC Design (Digital), Opto-electronics, Security and Data Sciences, and Intelligent Software and Systems. Five areas of applications including financial technologies, intelligent manufacturing, next generation network, health technologies, and smart city are identified for major pursuit. For further information about ASTRI, please visit www.astri.org